This invention relates to a mobile unit for treating soil and, in particular, to a mobile unit suitable for use on golf course or sportsfield sites for transporting an air handling system from site to site.
The term turf, as herein used, refers to the upper layer of earth that is exposed to surrounding ambient. The turf supports the grass that serves as the putting surface on a golf course green or any vegetative surface on sportsfields or the like. The term soil or subsoil refers to one or more layers of material that are situated beneath the turf and may be made up of natural or prepared layers of various constituents such as sand, dirt, gravel, peat moss and mixes thereof containing organic materials and other substances that might promote the growth and well-being of grass.
On many golf courses/sportsfields or the like, it is important to maintain the temperature of the turf and soil within a desired range. Special grasses used in the construction of greens are typically temperature sensitive and, as a consequence, the grass can be harmed if special precautions are not taken to protect it against changes in temperature. One such procedure heretofore involved moving air over the green surface using fans. These fans are relatively large and noisy devices and therefore detract from the game. Constant watering and syringing of the greens has also been employed, however, this procedure is relatively expensive, time consuming, and not wholly satisfactory because watering can increase the potential for disease.
In co-pending applications Ser. No. 08/177,441 entitled Underground System for Treating Soil filed Jan. 5, 1994, and Ser. No. 07/243,294 entitled Underground System for Cooling Soil filed May 17, 1994, there is described an underground system for treating greens/sportsfields and, in particular, greens constructed in accordance with specifications published by the United States Golf Association (USGA). The system involves installing a blower beneath ground adjacent each use site that operates to introduce ambient air into the gravel bed beneath the use site under sufficient pressure to force the air upward through the soil and subsoil layers of the green. The gravel bed serves to evenly distribute the air under the green whereby the entire surface area of the green is treated to both aerate the soil as well as heat and/or cool the grass during weather periods which are out of the ideal range for the turf health. The function of the blower is reversed through means of a four-way valve unit to pull ambient air downwardly through the green soil profile to aerate and remove excess water from the soil profile of the use site when certain climatic conditions prevail.
A use site constructed in accordance with USGA specifications is typically equipped with underground drain systems that includes a duct networking in which a number of perforated feeder pipes are connected into a main distribution or drain. The lines are arranged in a herringbone or grid pattern so that excess water moisture in the soil of the green is collected and carried off to a larger drainage system servicing the golf course. As explained in the noted co-pending applications, the existing drainage network of a USGA green can be utilized in conjunction with an air handling system to provide beneficial treatment to the soil and subsoil of the green. Although use of the existing drainage network considerably reduces the cost of installing an underground treatment system, the cost of installing individual air handling equipment at each use site location can still be relatively high.